Attendees hold up sings during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Veteran Raul Rodriquez Jr holds up a sign during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Claudia Plascencia speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Councilman Gregory Salcido listens to an attendee speak during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Hiram Figueroa speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Veteran Wayne Wright speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

El Rancho High School teacher Raul Elias speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Et Snell speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Andre Eric Martinez speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Eric Martinez speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

A.J. Valdez speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Veteran Raul Rodriquez Jr holds up a sign and a copy of the constitution while speaking during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Richard Betancourt speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Maria Elelna Martinez speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Estela Aguilar speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Councilman Gregory Salcido speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Flags setup by veterans are pictures in front of City Hall before the City Council meeting in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Marine core veteran Anthony Dovali hammers a flag holder down in front of city hall before the City Council meeting in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera resident Juan Aguilar holds up two signs before the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Metal detectors installed by the L.A. County Sheriffs department are pictured before the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Mayor Gustavo Camacho (center) begins the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Councilman Gregory Salcido faces the flag during the pledge of allegiance while not reciting it or placing his hand over his heart at the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Meeting agenda is pictured during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

A variety of attendees including residents and veterans are pictured during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Attendees are pictured during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Councilman David Armenta speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Mayor Pro Tem Brent Tercero speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

Pico Rivera Councilman Bob Archuleta speaks during the City Council meeting at City Hall in Pico Rivera, Calif. on Tuesday February 13,2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

The Pico Rivera City Council on Tuesday asked for the resignation of one of its own, Gregory Salcido, following public backlash to his anti-military remarks that went viral last month.

Salcido — making his first public appearance at City Hall since the audio of his comments was posted on social media Jan. 26, and was met with a single boo from the audience as he walked out onto the dais — said he would not resign.

“I’m not anti-military,” said Salcido, 49, a teacher at El Rancho High School, where his comments were recorded. “I am pro-education.”

He said he was sorry to anyone his comments may have hurt, but he did not apologize for the remarks themselves.

“If anything I have said has hurt somebody, it was unintentional, and I hope that apology can be taken sincerely,” he said.

Salcido’s priority the past two weeks has been the safety of his wife and son because they’ve been “inundated with death threats,” he said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Pico Rivera Station took the extra security precaution for the meeting of having people pass through metal detectors before entering City Hall.

Accommodations were made for the overflow crowd, estimated by officials at about 300. Those who could not fit inside the council chambers were seated under a canopy outside City Hall and watched the proceedings on a large screen TV.

Salcido requested to speak after the public comments period was closed. He said the remarks attributed to him on the recording were not intended for anyone inside the council chambers.

“No one here in this room was a part of that conversation,” Salcido said. “So I wasn’t thinking about you. I didn’t have you on my mind. I didn’t have any desire to hurt you.”

He didn’t understand why someone would take his comments personally. Salcido, a pacifist, then talked about his uncles were veterans, and the concept of war.

He also told his supporters to leave Victor Quiñonez, the student who made the recording, alone. The teen’s mother, Karen Rodriguez, said in an interview before the meeting her son has received threats because of the recording. The family did not attend the council meeting.

“My goal as it relates to my students related to the military is to get them to do everything to get to college,” Salcido said. “It’s not just the military. I don’t want them to work at a fast food restaurant either.”

The resolution calling for Salcido’s resignation passed 3-1-1. It said Salcido’s comments “have placed our city under a cloud of dishonor, disparagement, suspicion and criticism,” and that “taking such a drastic step is an effort to restore the positive image of our city.”

Councilman Bob Archuleta, a Vietnam War-era Army veteran and who has two sons on active duty, said Salcido has disgraced the city and shouted, “God bless America,” as the resolution passed.

Tercero, who was booed when he abstained, called the resolution a political statement. “It lacks enforcement; it lacks teeth,” he said.

Under the public comments portion of the agenda, 55 people came to the podium, with 53 demanding Salcido resign and two former students speaking in support of him.

“You taught me that I could be the best that I could be in school and in life without having to risk my life or to pursue what I thought was my only option,” former student Jeovany Zavala said.

The majority of speakers — veterans, parents and family members of veterans — demanded his resignation and condemned his remarks.

Resident Veronica Aguliar, wearing a sweatshirt with “NAVY” embroidered on the front of it, read a letter from her brother, Juan, a 2012 graduate of El Rancho High School who is currently serving in the Navy.

“For you to denigrate the entire U.S. military makes it clear to me that you have no clue about the reasons so many people join,” she read from the letter. “Some join to bring great honor to their family, others to leave the poor conditions they live in back home and finally, to become successful.”

The letter ended with Juan Aguilar stating, “You can hate on the military all you want. … I ask for your resignation Councilman Gregory Salcido because you will not represent me and all the others who do not agree with you.”

Salcido, who is currently the longest serving councilman, showed no emotion or reaction as speaker after speaker spoke against him.

Fellow El Rancho High School teacher Raul Elias said he presented a recall notice to Salcido before the meeting, and gained the signatures with the help of veterans.

In the video that was posted on social media and garnered reaction as far away as the White House, Salcido can be heard in his government class criticizing a 17-year-old student, Victor Quinonez, for wearing a sweatshirt with a logo for the U.S. Marines Corps. Salcido goes on to say only those without options would choose the military as a career, and called soldiers the “lowest of the low.”

Salcido said the comments were taken out of context and were more about trying to reach an “apathetic” student.

Trevor McCardle, a lawyer representing Quiñonez, spoke at the beginning of the public comments portion of the hearing, asked that the teen’s supporters refrain from participating in the meeting.

“Like all of Victor’s supporters, we anticipate an opportunity to voice our concerns to Mr. Salcido,” he said. “However, we feel confronting Mr. Salcido and his supporters this evening may be counterproductive.”

McCardle said the family wanted to give Salcido a fair hearing and urged those making threats to stop.

The El Rancho Unified School District placed Salcido on paid administrative leave during its investigation into the incident.

Sandra Molina is a native Southern Californian, the oldest of three children raised by a single mom who named her after Dodgers great Sandy Koufax. She grew up in Monterey Park, but was schooled in Tarzana, through busing, and East Los Angeles. She is a proud alumna of Garfield High School in East Los Angeles; Rio Hondo College in Whittier; and Cal State University at Long Beach, where she earned a BA degree in English Literature. She began a career as a freelance writer and photographer in the San Gabriel Valley in 1997, in addition to being a writer/photographer for GoGirlsMusic.com as its Los Angeles correspondent. She has been a reporter with the San Gabriel Valley News Group since 2007 writing features, breaking news, entertainment, sports and crime. Outside of the newsroom, she enjoys music, reading, going to the beach and spending time with family and friends.

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